Which of the possible venues do you think would best suit this play? Why do you believe the dramatic action would be best served in this venue? I am a very traditional person and I've seen quite a number of plays and I just believe in the classic proscenium venue as being the best type of venue for a play. The audience will clearly see everything that happens throughout the play. Also, using this venue allows the actress and actor playing Li’l Bit and Peck to face the audience full frontal during their driving scenes together. When the family is gathered around the table, we will be able to see all characters. I think proscenium is the most appropriate and gives the best visual for the scene, and that is probably why it is the most popular type of venue.
What are some of the design challenges posed by the play? Props may be a design challenge. We see quite a few props during the play, including a car which is the main prop used. Obviously, some directors may not have funds to get a real car, which probably would not suit a live play anyways because we would not be able to see and hear the characters as well if they were in a car during scenes. The director would need to find a way to simulate the car. Additionally, the play jumps between different time periods quite often during the play. The director would need to figure out how to make these transitions between time periods as fluent as possible. I think this would be the director’s largest issue.
Choose the various chorus characters and discuss how you see them dressed. In what ways do you think the costumes you describe would help articulate their purpose in this play? I see the teenage chorus character dressing very juvenile and innocent. This character is supposed to (mostly) portray children from Li’l Bit’s past, including herself. We want this character to look as authentically young as possible, even though the playwright suggests the actress a bit older to avoid making the audience too uncomfortable. The male chorus is a little bit trickier because this actor needs to portray characters from a teenage age all the way to the grandfather. I think the actor should be dressed as simple as possible, perhaps some khakis and a polo, because we do not want this character to give off any impression of his “age” from his outfit. We need him to be versatile. Lastly, I see the female chorus wearing a more conservative outfit. This actress is playing the high school girls, mother, and Aunt Mary. I believe all of these characters are hiding something they don’t want to share with the rest of the world, and they do that in dressing in a conservative manner. I would suggest a long skirt and long sleeve shirt. All of these characters are the ghosts of Li’l Bit’s past and we want them all to stand out in their own way and their clothing allows them to express their personalities in a non-verbal way.
Provide some ideas about the use of light in the play? I think in the more serious moments, such as the moments in the car and especially the scene where we find out Peck abused Li’l Bit at age eleven, the lighting should be dim, yet focused on the car. In the moments where Li’l Bit has her monologues to the audience, I think there should just be one spotlight on her so all attention is focused on her and we can see the separation between her narration versus her glimpses back into her life. I think the scenes where we are back at the high school or at the dinner table should just be well lit. I believe in the ending scene we should see a spotlight on Li’l Bit in her car, looking back to Peck and getting ready to drive. This ending scene symbolizes her admittance to what happened to her in the past and forgiving herself and her uncle and moving on. The lighting needs to be as dramatic as the scene.
Suggest music and sound effects that could help accentuate the mood or atmosphere of the play. We listened to some music the playwright listened to while writing this piece. I think it would be a good idea to incorporate those pieces of music into the play at appropriate times. At the beginning when we think Li’l Bit and Peck are an item but don’t know he abused her first, the director could play “Dream Baby” or “Little Surfer Girl”. When Li’l Bit is telling her uncle she can’t see him anymore, the director could play “The Girl is a Woman Now” to acknowledge that Li’l Bit has grown up and realized her relationship with her uncle was inappropriate. The ending should have a slightly uplifting tune because Li’l Bit is finally admitting, accepting, and trying to move on from the abuse she suffered as a child. During the scene where Peck drinks himself to death, the sound effects should be dark and morbid. During the scene when we are finally told what happened to Li’l Bit when she was eleven, I believe the sounds should be disturbing to accentuate the inappropriateness of the events that occur. I believe this play goes through many ups and downs and music and sound effect have the ability to accentuate the emotions and events that occur throughout the play.
I am a very traditional person and I've seen quite a number of plays and I just believe in the classic proscenium venue as being the best type of venue for a play. The audience will clearly see everything that happens throughout the play. Also, using this venue allows the actress and actor playing Li’l Bit and Peck to face the audience full frontal during their driving scenes together. When the family is gathered around the table, we will be able to see all characters. I think proscenium is the most appropriate and gives the best visual for the scene, and that is probably why it is the most popular type of venue.
What are some of the design challenges posed by the play?
Props may be a design challenge. We see quite a few props during the play, including a car which is the main prop used. Obviously, some directors may not have funds to get a real car, which probably would not suit a live play anyways because we would not be able to see and hear the characters as well if they were in a car during scenes. The director would need to find a way to simulate the car. Additionally, the play jumps between different time periods quite often during the play. The director would need to figure out how to make these transitions between time periods as fluent as possible. I think this would be the director’s largest issue.
Choose the various chorus characters and discuss how you see them dressed. In what ways do you think the costumes you describe would help articulate their purpose in this play?
I see the teenage chorus character dressing very juvenile and innocent. This character is supposed to (mostly) portray children from Li’l Bit’s past, including herself. We want this character to look as authentically young as possible, even though the playwright suggests the actress a bit older to avoid making the audience too uncomfortable. The male chorus is a little bit trickier because this actor needs to portray characters from a teenage age all the way to the grandfather. I think the actor should be dressed as simple as possible, perhaps some khakis and a polo, because we do not want this character to give off any impression of his “age” from his outfit. We need him to be versatile. Lastly, I see the female chorus wearing a more conservative outfit. This actress is playing the high school girls, mother, and Aunt Mary. I believe all of these characters are hiding something they don’t want to share with the rest of the world, and they do that in dressing in a conservative manner. I would suggest a long skirt and long sleeve shirt. All of these characters are the ghosts of Li’l Bit’s past and we want them all to stand out in their own way and their clothing allows them to express their personalities in a non-verbal way.
Provide some ideas about the use of light in the play?
I think in the more serious moments, such as the moments in the car and especially the scene where we find out Peck abused Li’l Bit at age eleven, the lighting should be dim, yet focused on the car. In the moments where Li’l Bit has her monologues to the audience, I think there should just be one spotlight on her so all attention is focused on her and we can see the separation between her narration versus her glimpses back into her life. I think the scenes where we are back at the high school or at the dinner table should just be well lit. I believe in the ending scene we should see a spotlight on Li’l Bit in her car, looking back to Peck and getting ready to drive. This ending scene symbolizes her admittance to what happened to her in the past and forgiving herself and her uncle and moving on. The lighting needs to be as dramatic as the scene.
Suggest music and sound effects that could help accentuate the mood or atmosphere of the play.
We listened to some music the playwright listened to while writing this piece. I think it would be a good idea to incorporate those pieces of music into the play at appropriate times. At the beginning when we think Li’l Bit and Peck are an item but don’t know he abused her first, the director could play “Dream Baby” or “Little Surfer Girl”. When Li’l Bit is telling her uncle she can’t see him anymore, the director could play “The Girl is a Woman Now” to acknowledge that Li’l Bit has grown up and realized her relationship with her uncle was inappropriate. The ending should have a slightly uplifting tune because Li’l Bit is finally admitting, accepting, and trying to move on from the abuse she suffered as a child. During the scene where Peck drinks himself to death, the sound effects should be dark and morbid. During the scene when we are finally told what happened to Li’l Bit when she was eleven, I believe the sounds should be disturbing to accentuate the inappropriateness of the events that occur. I believe this play goes through many ups and downs and music and sound effect have the ability to accentuate the emotions and events that occur throughout the play.